Garbage

For my upcoming “2049″ show at the Dump in San Francisco, one of the artworks that will be featured will be a phone booth where you can talk to someone from the year 2049. People can pick up the phone (it will be set up as a live line) and talk to an ambassador-from-the-future, who will answer questions about what life is like in the year 2049.

Last week, I began a 4-month residency at Recology San Francisco (a.k.a. The Dump) where I make art solely from the refuse that people drop off in their cars and trucks. I am treating this residency as a performance.

I am playing the role of a prospector from the future who mines the garbage heaps of a past civilization to build technologies to survive. Trawling through construction debris, discarded electronics and the scraps of people’s lives, I am making blueprints and building imaginary devices such as a food synthesizer and an infinite battery.

In preparation for my upcoming residency at Recology San Francisco (a.k.a. The Dump), I have been consuming books and films about garbage management. Elizabeth Royte’s Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash is a perfect entry point for those that want to venture beyond compost culture and delve into the real story behind where human waste goes after exiting the home.